s the latter's desk, Baird spoke.

"Sis, he's a wonder."

"Jeff, you're a wonder. How'd you ever keep him from getting wise?"

Baird shrugged. "Easy! We caught him fresh."

"How'd you ever win him to do all those falls on the trick spurs, and
get the close-ups of them? Didn't he know you were shooting?"

"Oh!" Baird shrugged again. "A little talk made that all jake. But what
bothers me--how's he going to act when he's seen the picture?"

The girl became grave. "I'm scared stiff every time I think of it. Maybe
he'll murder you, Jeff."

"Maybe he'll murder both of us. You got him into it."

She did not smile, but considered gravely, absently.

"There's something else might happen," she said at last. "That boy's got
at least a couple of sides to him. I'd rather he'd be crazy mad than
be what I'm thinking of now, and that's that all this stuff might just
fairly break his heart. Think of it--to see his fine honest acting
turned into good old Buckeye slap-stick! Can't you get that? How'd you
like to think you were playing Romeo, and act your heart out at it, and
then find out they'd slipped in a cross-eyed Juliet in a comedy make-up
on you? Well, you can laugh, but maybe it won't be funny to him. Honest,
Jeff, that kid gets me under the ribs kind of. I hope he takes it
standing up, and goes good and crazy mad."

"I'll know what to say to him if he does that. If he takes it the other
way, lying down, I'll be too ashamed ever to look him in the eye again.
Say, it'll be like going up to a friendly baby and soaking it with a
potato masher or something."

"Don't worry about it, Kid. Anyway, it won't be your fault so much as
mine. And you think there's only two ways for him to take it, mad or
heart broken? Well, let me tell you something about that lad--he might
fool you both ways. I don't know just how, but I tell you he's an actor,
a born one. What he did is going to get over big. And I never yet saw a
born actor that would take applause lying down, even if it does come
for what he didn't know he was doing. Maybe he'll be mad--that's natural
enough. But maybe he'll fool us both. So cheerio, old Pippin! and let's
fly into the new piece. I'll play safe by shooting the most of that
before the other one is released. And he'll still be playing straight in
a serious heart drama. Fancy that, Armand!"

CHAPTER XV. A NEW TRAIL

One genial morning a few days later the sun shone in across the desk of
Baird while he ta